Hide and Sheep    by Andrea Beaty & Bill Mayer Order:  USA  Can Margaret K. McElderry, 2011 (2011) Hardcover, e-Book     Reviewed by Bob Walch Begin with a flock of sheep and start counting backwards as they get into all sorts of mischief and you have the basic plan of this picture book. That's the idea of this story intended for children between the ages of four and eight. When we find Farmer McFitt on the first page, he's sound asleep in his bed and his flock is sneaking out the door. 'Wake up! Wake up, Farmer McFitt! You've sheep to shear and clothes to knit! Your sheep have grown restless! They're jumping the gate! Now wake up and find them before it's too late!' Keep turning the pages and you'll see that it's apparently already too late to stop the flight of the wooly critters. While a few of the sheep have headed to the zoo where they frolic with the kangaroo, giraffe and chimps, others have either joined the circus, formed a baseball team, or headed for the village to take in a movie. The more artistically inclined sheep check out the new paintings at the local art museum, while others are at the library reading. Plus five 'groovy lambs' have hit the beach for some surfing and snorkeling. As the sheep cavort through this book, apparently Farmer McFitt continues to snooze. But that's not necessarily the case, as you'll see when you reach the concluding pages of this amusing picture book. Dare I say Andrea Beaty has cleverly pulled the wool over our eyes! Of course not, because that would be downright baa-aaad! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews